New Control Arms change suspension height?

[natesky]

Hi,

I recently replaced the upper and lower control arms on my passanger side. Unfortuantly it took most the evening and I didn't have time to replace the driver side (doing that tomorrow). It is clear by looking at the car, and by looking at how far the wheel is in the well that it is riding about an 1" taller on the passanger side now.

The car always had a slight lean to the driver side, now it is more pronounced.

Any theories?

*One thought is that I didn't get enough weight into the car before torqueing the bolts
*another is that the spring / cup isn't sitting in its groves (although it is on the bottom, I'm less certain about the top)
*my last thought is that the control arms are shaped differently, or my old ones were slightly distorted?

[So Cal Mark]

I'd look at the springs, either one is sagged or not seated properly

[Mark_vaughn]

Did you change the shocks? That can make a difference.

[natesky]

Hi Mark,
Yes I did replace the shock w/ the control arms. They are KYB gas ($33 per) shocks.

Last weekend I tried to remove the driver side shock, but there was too much stuff in the way on the driver side to gain easily access to the nut in the top of the shock tower.

Hopefully I'll get the driver side done today and I'll post an update. Even if the driver side gains a 1" to be as high as the passanger, I think it will look odd/nose high.

-Nathan

[So Cal Mark]

springs support the car, shocks dampen the spring action. So unless you've got coil-over or air shocks, the height will stay the same with or without the shocks in place. Sounds like your right side spring is not positioned properly on its' seat

[natesky]

I did finish replacing the control arms a couple weeks ago. Checked passenger side spring, it is seated correctly.

If I lift up on the driver side it will sit at correct height (same as pass side)... until you put any weight on it that is.

I also notice that the front is much softer than the rear suspension.

I think my driver side front spring is fatigued. I always assumed a coil spring would simply break rather than become soft..

Any ideas? Looks to me like I need new springs.

-Nathan

[So Cal Mark]

springs always sag, rarely break

[ventura ace]

On Jan 19, Nathan wrote:
"Yes I did replace the shock w/ the control arms. They are KYB gas ($33 per) shocks".

I'm assuming that the passenger side shock that you took out was not a gas shock. You replaced it with a gas shock. This will raise your car up a bit (sorry, Mark, I'll need to disagree with you on this one). True, a shock is a damper. However, a gas charged shock, has a fair amount of lift to it. You can experience this first hand when you try to compress a gas charged shock. How much force does it take to compress it? About 50 lbs, maybe? That's how much more force you have lifting that corner of the car when the shock is installed. I'll bet that when you install the other KYB on the driver side that it will even out a tad to be similar to what it was before.

All that said, . . . it may be that your springs are a bit tired, too. But try putting the other KYB shock on before you get too bothered by it. I'm looking forward to hear how it turns out!

Alvon

[So Cal Mark]

if he wrote that he only installed one gas shock, I missed that. I'll agree that a really stiff gas shock may raise the car slightly, but I've never seen a pair raise a car one inch. It could also be a case of a frozen rear shock, and I've seen loads of them on Spiders. I'm still sticking with the sagged spring, although it's difficult to see it from here

[mbouse]

double check the spring for proper seating, then perform the same parts exchanges on the other side of the car before making any comparisons.

you will be pleased that you did.

[natesky]

Thank you for all your replys.

To clarify. Both sides have new control arms and gas shocks.

Mark- I will check my rear shocks, (they are next on my Mx schedule).

Sagging spring seems a likely candidate to me. I suppose I shouldn't complain @ ~$250 for four performance springs.


-Nathan

[dlbj]

I'm feeling the same way the mbouse id about checking the seating. The cup at the top of the spring tower has three pieces. It could be that one of the three pieces is not lined up correctly or seated correctly. The only thing that hold those in place is the pressure from the spring, so while you had it apart they could have shifted. I am including a picture showing the pieces that I'm talking about. They're circled in red.

[htchevyii]

Did you have the car's weight on the suspension before tightening the control arm shaft nuts? If not the bushings may be binding.

[pope]

Sorry that I just found the post today. Did you put in the KYB2 Gas a-just shocks (white)? I had them in my Fiat and had several problems. These KYBs are highly charged, much more than a typical gas shock. The gas pressure is too much for a Fiat and its light body. Especially when you put in all four, they push the body height up way too much. The back end raises up 2". KYB does make a normal shock, the GR2 ($23) that just dampens the ride and is perfect for a spider.

Those white shocks come corded and you install then and then cut the cord to expand them. Virtually imposible to install if you pull the cord first. I also had them push through the shock towers. They are listed in the catalog as a replacement for Fiat spiders, but I wouldnt use them again. Too strong.

But look on the bright side, with that much room now youll be able to fit the 17" rims in there now.

[bradartigue]

KYBs are definitely a poor choice...but if you can't afford KONI the options are fairly limited. A Spider 2000 looks like it is on stilts with KYBs, unless you run the 14" wheels, then it looks, uh, normal... I bought a set of shocks from Autozone for $15.00 each (actually $14.98 each) and they aren't as aggressively charged as the KYBs. I think they are Gabriel shocks, they might be Monroe. They are at least as well made as the KYB (which means a 4-5 year lifespan in my experience). Good thing is they are damn cheap and you can buy about 10 sets for the price of KONIs.